Bremen archaeologist discovers lost city of Alexandria on the Tigris!

Bremen archaeologist discovers lost city of Alexandria on the Tigris!

In a fascinating discovery, Bremen archaeologist Stefan Hauser has revealed the existence of a previously unknown ancient city: Alexandria on the Tigris. This city, founded by Alexander the Great in 324 BC. BC, is one of the historical treasures of the Middle East and is waiting to be fully explored. According to that Weser courier Hauser, 63 years old and professor at the University of Konstanz, has been taking part in a British expedition since 2017 to document these ruins.

Hauser commutes between northern and southern Germany to work on excavation missions, particularly in Iraq. His travels are not without challenges, as the security situation in Iraq has improved since 2016, but the political and social conditions are often tense. Over 2,000 changes from the Iraq-Iran War (1980-1988) have been documented in the ruins of Alexandria on the Tigris, highlighting the need for detailed study of the city.

The discovery of Alexandria on the Tigris

The city was originally founded to take into account the changing living conditions caused by the decline of old port cities. With its massive protective wall that stretches over 3.4 kilometers and is up to eight meters high, Alexandria on the Tigris shows how important this place once was for the exchange of goods. Today, access to the city is limited by the dramatically changed Persian Gulf coastline, leaving it largely cut off from the sea.

The British expedition, launched in 2016, aimed to identify ruins in the region at a time when archaeological excavations were not permitted. Hauser contributed significantly to this effort by conducting geological and geophysical surveys in the region, which were supplemented by state-of-the-art satellite images and over 20,000 drone images.

A look beyond the borders

But research is not only carried out in Iraq's historical regions. The ancient city of Doliche in southeastern Turkey represents another key site that offers important insights into Middle Eastern urbanism. How Archeology Online reports, a new project is being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with over 600,000 euros to research urban development and urban culture in Hellenistic-Roman northern Syria up to the Crusader period. These concerns are particularly relevant as many ancient sites have become inaccessible due to modern developments or conflicts in the region.

The excavation team in Doliche, led by Prof. Dr. Engelbert Winter, consists of around 30 scientists and students as well as around 35 excavation workers from Turkey - an excellent example of international cooperation in archaeology.

These exciting developments show that exploring ancient cities such as Alexandria on the Tigris and Doliche not only sheds new light on history, but also makes the cultural roots of our modern civilization visible. We can't wait to see what the next excavations will bring and what secrets the ground still holds.

For more information on the topic, you can view the detailed description of the project on the Biodiversity Library read up.